Kedah exco man claims trial over university admission remarks

PETALING JAYA: Kedah executive councillor Haim Hilman Abdullah has been charged at the Seremban magistrates’ court over his comments on the public university admission system.

He was accused under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, which criminalises statements made with the intent to cause fear or alarm to the public and carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both, Harian Metro reported.

The Jitra assemblyman claimed trial before magistrate Nurul Saqinah Rosli.

Haim, 53, is alleged to have claimed that public universities were selling spots to the wealthy and that tens of thousands of students had entered through “backdoor” routes.

He is said to have made the impugned statements between 8pm and 12pm on June 13 at the Seremban PAS headquarters.

Negeri Sembilan prosecution director Ku Hayati Ku Harun requested that bail be set at RM10,000 with the additional condition that the accused surrender his passport pending the conclusion of the case.

Defence lawyer Fauzi Che Abu argued that the bail amount proposed by the prosecution was punitive and unreasonable, and instead proposed a bail of RM5,000.

He said requiring his client to surrender his passport would hinder his duties and responsibilities as a Kedah executive councillor and state assemblyman, as he frequently travels overseas on official state government business.

He added that the accused had appeared in court voluntarily for today’s proceedings to clear his name.

The court subsequently set bail at RM5,000 with one surety, without imposing any additional conditions, and fixed July 30 for case mention and submission of documents.